The world’s largest wood city will be built in Stockholm, Sweden with construction starting in 2025.
Named Stockholm Wood City, and designed by Henning Larsen and White Arkitekter, the first buildings are expected to be completed in 2027.
The project by urban developer Atrium Ljungberg will include 7,000 new offices and 2,000 new housing units, along with a vibrant, urban environment with a mix of restaurants and shops. The mass-timber development will span 25 blocks with 30 wood buildings.
“We are proud to introduce Stockholm Wood City. This is not only an important step for us as a company, but a historic milestone for Swedish innovation capability,” said Annica Ånäs, CEO of Atrium Ljungberg. “Stockholm Wood City manifests our future. From tenants, there is a strong demand for innovative, sustainable solutions – a demand that we meet with this initiative.”
Modern wooden construction is a hot topic of discussion globally, but the completed projects so far are often individual buildings or blocks. Among others, The New European Bauhaus have in recent years pushed for increased wooden construction, but old conventions and beliefs have slowed down development.
According to the developer, the advantages of wooden buildings are many, both for the environment and for people’s health and well-being. As shown by various research studies, wooden buildings provide better air quality, reduce stress, increase productivity and store carbon dioxide throughout the time they are in use.
“Our industry leaves a big mark, and it is important for us to make a positive difference in both the shorter and longer term. We want to create an environment where our customers, those who will live and work here, can participate in the development and design of the city district of the future,” said Ånäs.
In addition to the advantages of wood, the project entails several other environmental benefits. The emphasis on office spaces is a way to meet the deficit in workplaces south of Stockholm’s inner city, to shorten commuting times for more people.
In Sweden where energy supply and efficiency are high up on the national agenda, the project will focus on self-produced, stored and shared energy. By investing in resource-efficient construction methods and circular material flows, Atrium Ljungberg wants to change the role of the urban developer. Their ambition is to be a catalyst for innovation just as much as its Swedish peers in industries such as technology, manufacturing and retail.
